Hypertension (high blood pressure) decisions — 2005

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension warrants a 20 percent rating from February 9, 2004. The issue of service connection for coronary artery disease is remanded to allow further development.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including prostate cancer, residuals of excision of a lipoma of the right anterior chest wall, malaria, Hodgkin's disease, hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), and abdominal aortic aneurysm. The appeal is not about service connection at all.

The Board denied the veteran's claims of service connection for depression, a cardiovascular disorder (including hypertension), and vision problems, all claimed as due to an undiagnosed illness.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension is not related to his service, and therefore denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's claims for hypertension, arthritis, urinary tract infection, malaria, and a disorder manifest by fever were denied as there was no evidence of the disabilities having their origin in service. The claims for bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, and muscular abscess were not reopened due to lack of new and material evidence.

The Board has determined that new and material evidence has not been submitted to reopen the veteran's claim for service connection for right knee disability. The May 1975 rating decision denying this claim is final.

The Board has remanded the case for further development, including a VA examination to determine if the veteran's current hypertension is causally related to his right ankle injury in March 1991 or due to surgery on his right ankle in October and January 1992. The claim will be reviewed again after this additional development.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for a back disorder and psychiatric disorders, including PTSD. The new evidence supports these claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current disability for which service connection can be granted, and therefore his claims are denied.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension is at least as likely as not caused or made worse by his service-connected PTSD, and thus grants secondary service connection for hypertension.

The veteran's claims for increased evaluations for arterial hypertension, status-post coronary artery bypass surgery due to occluding coronary artery disease, and diabetes mellitus were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for higher ratings.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension did not develop during service or within one year of discharge, and thus cannot be presumed to have been incurred in service. The evidence does not support a finding that the current condition is related to any incident of service.

The Board found that the veteran's hypertension and urinary tract infections are not proximately due to or the result of his service-connected diabetes mellitus, nor any incident of active military service.

The veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings of degenerative disc disease of the lumbosacral spine and hypertension, effectively dismissing these claims.

The Board has determined that the veteran's hypertension is not a result of, or proximately due to, his service-connected disabilities, including residuals of right and left shoulder and knee injuries.

The VA denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and extraschedular ratings for his hypertensive heart disease, as the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under the applicable diagnostic codes.

The veteran's nonservice-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for special monthly pension based on need for regular aid and attendance or housebound status.

The veteran's claim for increased rating of left hip fracture was granted, with a 10% disability rating effective August 30, 2001. The claims for service connection of right shoulder disorder and psychiatric disorder were reopened on new evidence, but no specific decision was made regarding these conditions.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the severity of his service-connected hypertension and lumbosacral spondylosis.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims for service connection and increased rating of his diabetes mellitus, as well as his secondary service connection claims for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and angina.